MSNBC (Microsoft & National Broadcasting Company) is a 24-hour news channel in the United States. It is available in over 76 million households in the U.S. and broadcasts primarily out of its studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
History
Launched on July 15, 1996, MSNBC is currently America's third-most-watched cable news channel, after FOX News Channel and CNN, and ahead of CNN Headline News.
MSNBC was founded by Microsoft and General Electric, which owns NBC Universal. Today, both companies share control of the company.
On March 3, 2005, an article from the New York Post said NBC Universal and Microsoft are in talks to give NBC full control of MSNBC-TV. Talks on MSNBC.com were apparantely not part of the discussion. Neither company would comment.
MSNBC online
MSNBC.com, the cable channel's affiliated website is currently in a fierce battle with CNN.com for the honour of top online US news site.
The site is produced out of newsrooms in Redmond, Washington and Secaucus, New Jersey.
MSNBC.com consists of news and features from MSNBC, MSNBC.com, NBC News, the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine, among others. MSNBC.com is the news provider for MSN, the portal site and online service operated by Microsoft. MSNBC.com hosts show websites for NBC News shows such as Dateline NBC, Today, and NBC Nightly News.
MSNBC.com launched a massive overhaul in December 2003.
MSNBC on television
MSNBC-TV is segmented in to four distinct programming segments: early morning, daytime, primetime and weekend.
Early mornings start with First Look, anchored by Kristine Johnson. The show airs live at 5am ET, and repeats at 5:30am ET.
Imus in the Morning is a simulcast of nationally syndicated radio personality Don Imus's show from WFAN radio. The program originates from MSNBC studios in New Jersey, as well as WFAN-AM studios in Queens, New York. Imus airs from 6-9am Eastern Time.
Daytime programming consists primarily of traditional newscasts, as well as an opinion program. From 9am-Noon, 1-4pm and 4:15-5pm ET, a cast of rotating anchors host MSNBC Live, featuring the latest news, live coverage, breaking news and special features. Anchors include Lester Holt , Contessa Brewer, Bill Fitzgerald, Kristine Johnson, Randy Meier, Natalie Morales , Milissa Rehberger, Amy Robach, Allison Stewart and Alex Witt. Rosey Edeh and meteorologist Sean McLaughlin provide weather reports.
At noon and 5pm ET each day, Connected Coast to Coast with Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley airs. The show features guests, opinion and interactive elements.
CNBC Market Wrap with Ron Insana is a brief look at the day's market action. As the name implies, the program is produced by sister-network CNBC. The show airs from 4-4:15pm ET.
Primetime begins at 6pm ET with The Abrams Report, hosted by NBC Chief Legal Correspondent Dan Abrams. The show focuses on the top legal stories of the day.
At 7pm ET, Hardball with Chris Matthews airs, hosted by political reporter and author Chris Matthews. Hardball serves up a mix of political and other news, and is often the network’s top-rated program.
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is a sometimes irreverent look at the day's top news, cablecast each weekday at 8pm ET. Hosted by former ESPN SportsCenter anchor Keith Olbermann, Countdown is styled like a radio music countdown -- starting with the day's #5 story, and progressing to number one. The higher the story number, the more buzz it is expected to get around the water cooler.
Former CNN Crossfire co-host Tucker Carlson has been signed to anchor a 9pm ET show beginning in the second quarter of 2005.[1] Currently, a mix of documentaries and topical programs under the MSNBC Reports banner airs in the timeslot.
Scarborough Country with former Florida representative Joe Scarborough airs at 10pm ET, and focuses on political, social, media and religious issues.
Weekends consist of limited live programming. Economy Watch is an in-depth look at the week's economic and consumer news. It airs live Saturday morning at 8am ET, and re-airs Sunday at 7am ET.
Viewers will find a news block anchored by Witt & Fitzgerald from 9am-noon ET Saturday, and 8am-noon ET Sunday.
At noon ET Saturday, MSNBC at the Movies with Sharon Tay airs. The program takes an in-depth look at movie and DVD news. Sunday features MSNBC Entertainment Hotlist, a broader take on the entertainment industry, in this timeslot.
From 1pm ET on, a mix of MSNBC Investigates, Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer, MSNBC Adventurer and other programs air. Brief news cut-ins are delivered at the bottom of each hour.
Past MSNBC shows featured hosts such as Soledad O'Brien, Jesse Ventura, Ann Curry, Lawrence O'Donnell , Phil Donahue, Alan Keyes, Pat Buchanan, Bill Press, Jerry Nachman, Ashleigh Banfield, Stone Phillips, Brian Williams, John Hockenberry , John McLaughlin, Curtis Sliwa, Ron Kuby, Mitch Albom, Michael Savage, Bill Moyers, Andrea Mitchell, Mike Barnicle, John Gibson, Frank Luntz, Laurie Dhue, Jane Pauley, and a number of others.
MSNBC on satellite radio
MSNBC program audio is also available on XM Satellite Radio. Imus in the Morning is not currently allowed to be broadcasted on the XM MSNBC channel. In the place of Imus from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M EST, XM airs 3 repeats of the 5:00AM hour of First Look. Primetime programming on Saturday and Sunday nights from 8:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. EST are replaced with repeats of the programming from the same time on the previous Thursday and Friday nights, respectively.
Don Imus' Imus in the Morning is syndicated via Westwood One, which generally does not allow live radio broadcasts via internet streams as well as satellite radio.
External links
